Jimmy Butler has kept the Warriors’ locker room in fun and often hilarious spirits despite being traded to the Warriors on Feb. 5 with undesirable labels attached to his name due to an ugly ending with the Miami Heat.

He showed his unique team-building skills when putting Buddy Hield on blast following the Warriors’ 95-85 Game 1 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday at Toyota Center in the 2025 Western Conference first-round playoffs, shamelessly sharing with the media an area of Hield’s game that must be improved.

“And Buddy … stop trying to dribble the ball; I hate that,” Butler said with hints of humor and seriousness.

Hield didn’t have an assist or turnover in Golden State’s win, but his dribbling skills worried Butler at times, which is fair. Hield is known as a catch-and-shoot specialist and career 39.7-percent 3-point shooter, and not as a Steph Curry-type of playmaker.

The moment was just one of many between Butler and Hield as the two continuously have poked fun at each other since Golden State’s blockbuster trade with Miami.

On March 10, reporters asked Butler what he thought about Hield calling him a “connector,” and Butler humorously answered by saying, “Don’t listen to nothing Buddy says … ever,” before making Hield spell out “connector” in front of the media, which Hield did incorrectly.

Hield got back at Butler on March 20 – after Butler posted 16 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds in Golden State’s 117-114 win over the Toronto Raptors – by claiming Butler had a “fake-ass triple-double.”

Butler also has made fun of Hield’s first name, believing it should be spelled “B-u-d-d-i-e,” since “B-u-d-d-y” is “stupid.”

No matter how many joking shots these two take at one another, it’s clear it’s all love between the teammates — but Hield might want to reassess his dribbling before Game 2.

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